As I picked up “To kill a Mocking Bird” for a hundredth time today, I wondered how much affection we have for our books! Some books really become inseparable for us. Fiction, motivational, biographies, travelogues, there is so much to choose from, we are spoilt for choice.
Of fiction I really cherish “To kill a Mocking Bird, The Alchemist and Pride & Prejudice”. Although known for his tragedies I love Shakespeare for his “Taming of shrew & Comedy of Errors” (the latter adapted in a movie “Angoor”). And who can forget our very own good old “Malgudi Days”.
Have you ever wondered how some characters reflect just us or someone we know! How we want to be like our favourite characters (I always wanted to be like Scout from “To kill a Mocking Bird”, bold, courageous, intelligent, quick witted, how innocent she was!). I so wish my father could be like Atticus (although my father is a very nice man, but no one could be like Atticus, he’s an ideal). Ever thought how we dread some characters (Voldemort), how we adore some (good old Dumbledore), how we hate some (Malfoy), (all from Harry Potter), how we are fascinated by some (Mr Darcy of Pride & Prejudice fame), how we are irritated by some (Lydia & her mother from same book), how we cannot understand some as many times we may read them ( Mr Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, I can never understand his psyche).
How our state of mind changes with that of characters we adore, we laugh with them, we cry with them, we live in their world while reading about them!
Do you have a fetish for a particular book, a particular character (I like Emma from Pride & Prejudice), and a particular incident (like Mr Darcy proposing Emma!) ??
Have you been wishing to take time off to grab your the copy of your favourite book n curl on lazily on sofa spending an entire night or an afternoon with it or you are eyeing some new ones ( I have a big list) ??
Common take some time out of your lives and indulge in the world of books, Steal some memories from your childhood and relive those glorious days with your favourite characters !!
P.S.: When you are gifting someone with books, you are truly gifting them memories which last longer………